The Mystery of Bein Hametzarim - The Seeds ofRedemption

            BeinHametzarim - “between the tragedies.” Caught in the vise between - the 17^thof Tamuz and the 9^th of Av - days in which our Bais Hamigdash wasdestroyed as well as many other calamities befell us – it is difficult toperceive any redeeming aspect of this tragic period. However, we have longunderstood the spiritual value that lies within adversity.  For example Cazal inform us of the benefitswe derived from our period of bondage in Mitzraim, which prepared us for thenext level in the service of Hashem. In Mitzrayim we were given the opportunityto extract precious sparks of holiness that only the most challenging of eventsand epochs could release.  

            Letus try to reveal a redemptive, positive view of this difficult period that were-visit each year at this time. Perhaps one of the “keys” to releasingourselves from personal and national bondage lies, ironically, in the name forthe period – “Bein Hametzarim”.

               Why is this time called “between thetragedies” and not “the time of tragedies”? The nature of many people, whenbeset by difficult challenges, is that they tend to become overwhelmed and evenimprisoned in their own personal “bars” of anguish and hopelessness. Yet, manyof us know those exceptional people who, in seemingly overwhelmingcircumstances, are able to overcome restrictions focusing not on the bars - oflimitation - but on the spaces “between” them – the inner messages that offernew vistas of growth and change which are encoded “within” the challenges.

            Cazalhave foretold that one day the inner lights of these days called Bein Hametzarimwill be unveiled revealing the crowning gem, our long awaited Moshiach, whosebirth  date is the 9^th of Av (Yerushalmi,Brachos).

            Sfas Emes tells us that the tenmaamoros (sayings) with which the world was created world were later channeledin Mitzraim through the ten makot and finally revealed in the form of the Ten Commandments.[1]These ten sayings were the Divine D.N.A. that G-d used to formulate theworld.  Had mankind cooperated and obeyedHashem’s commandments, the world would have achieved perfection; howeverbecause of the various sins throughout the generations, a process ofpurification was deemed necessary including the ten plagues (macot) for theMitzriyim (at  the same time that theJewish people were the recipients of blessings) that led eventually to theexodus.        

          However, since freedom from physicalbondage was not the final goal, the benevolent Creator led us to Har Sinai andgave us the Torah whose essence is coded within the ten commandments. 

                 Perhaps we can draw a parallelfrom this to draw another connection among numbers: the twenty-two oisios ofthe Torah, twenty-two days of Bein Hametzarim and totwenty-two of our holiest days. As is well known the entire creation wasand continues to exist through the twenty-two holy osios of the Torah. However,due to the ongoing failings of mankind, specifically the Jewish people have designatedto be a holy nation charged with rectifying and elevating the whole Creation. Weare assigned at times to descend into the darkest, most dangerous realms oftime in the calendar year[2]  in order to reveal the inner radiance theirintrinsic holiness. It is specifically during the depths of the frigid winterreferred to as SHOVAVIM (TAT), during which the Torah reading retells of thebondage of our forefathers, that we can access the spiritual “genetics” necessaryto rectify not only that period but all challenging times. This lofty goal isachievable through the dynamic vibrant power contained within the twenty-twoaliyot of the Torah beginning with the story of Moshe Rabbinu and theburning bush (sneh) (the forth alia in Parshas Shemos), ( then seven alias eachin Parshas Va’eira and Parshas Bo) and ending with the splitting of the Yam Suf(forth alia of Pashas Beshalach) for a total of twenty-two aliot.

         It is specifically through the Torah, ourspiritual catalyst, that even during the most twenty-two searing intense summer days of Bein Hametzarim will betransformed in the near future into days of joy. Adhering to the Torah’sprescriptions will enable us to make the transition from the grip of stiflingbondage to new heights of freedom in days of Divine radiance. Each and everyday of the Bein Hametzarim period contains within it the seeds - the inneressence - of twenty-two of our holiest days.  [3]

            Mayall of us merit to see, feel and experience the blessings encoded within eachand every one of these days, thereby transcending the galus of limitation toarrive at the ultimate geulah.